Water quality at most
beaches ‘excellent’
MARIGOT--The regional health department Direction de La Santé et du Développement Social (DSDS) of Guadeloupe recently announced that water quality at beaches in Guadeloupe, St. Martin and St. Barths, is excellent, and conforms to 98 per cent of European directives for quality controls.
The results obtained from the Pasteur Institute laboratory in Guadeloupe refer to tests for bacteria and other testing criteria carried out by health officials in 2006.
Of 114 sites tested in the region, 89 swimming zones fell in Category A for Good Quality. Twenty-three zones were in Category B (Medium Quality) and 2 zones in Category C (Temporarily Polluted).
No beaches were given a classification “No Swimming Allowed.”
French side beaches in St. Martin given the Good Quality classification in 2006 included Baie aux Prunes at Anse Marcel, Le Galion north end, Le Galion south end, Long Bay (Lowlands), Orient Bay North, Orient Bay South, Baie Rouge, Friars Bay, Grand Case, Grandes Cayes North, Grandes Cayes South, and Petit Plage.
Pinel Island was classified as Medium Quality.
